Published: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 11:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at 11:15 a.m.

GOLDEN MEADOW — Under a waning moon and a brilliant canopy of early-morning stars, Bayou Lafourche shone like smooth black glass as the 28-foot shrimp boat What Now motored southeast.

Adam “Pip” Verdin, 65, pipe clenched between his teeth and left hand on the wheel, joined other local fishermen early Monday on the waters of lower Lafourche and Terrebonne. All were trying their luck on the first day of 2009’s fall shrimp season.

Lightning streaks lit up towering masses of clouds like flashbulbs as Verdin steered toward canals and lakes between Golden Meadow and Grand Isle, hoping for spots where the shrimp were running thick.

His first pass with the skimmer nets, called a “drag” by shrimpers, pulled in mounds of marine jelly, small croakers and just a handful of white shrimp.

“It’s just jelly in there,” he said, after cranking his nets out of the water and onto the stern deck for an inspection.

The rest of the day wasn’t much better. After more than four hours on the water, Verdin had about 20 pounds of shrimp.

“That ain’t the first time I seen that,” he said, adding that other opening days in August have been equally disappointing. “The winds aren’t right or something.”

The other fishermen chatting with him in French on the marine radio weren’t having any better luck.

Gloria Pellegrin, a worker at Gulf Island Seafood in Dulac, said Terrebonne fishermen were likewise having a slow day.

“There’s no big catches,” she said. “We only had about three boats that came in this morning and they had very little.”

Shrimpers across the state were reporting low catch numbers, according to Martin Bourgeois, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and director of its shrimp program.

“It’s not too spectacular a start,” said Bourgeois, offering stagnant tides, clear water and recent hot weather as potential reasons.

“These are the dog days of summer,” he said.

Shrimp tend to burrow and escape the nets when water is clear, Bourgeois said, adding that a front or system moving through the coast might help get them moving again.

“That’s what often times it takes during the heat of summer. Something to stir things up,” he said. “There’s not much movement at all.”

But with the catch selling for rock-bottom prices at local docks and the shrimp more difficult to find during the fall season, shrimpers may have a tough time making up for the slow start.

Verdin, of Golden Meadow, is a former shipyard worker who became a commercial shrimper about 18 years ago after rupturing a disk in his back. He works odd carpentry and electrical jobs but makes most of his yearly income from shrimping.

Verdin spent about $200 in fuel and $40 in ice for his first trip, putting him “one day in the hole.”

“Tomorrow might be better,” he said. “Right now it’s like gambling.”

Shrimp are grouped based on how many it takes to make a pound. At the Sea Shed in Golden Meadow, where Verdin ties up his boat, fishermen were paid $2 a pound for 16-20s, among the larger shrimp.

“It’s hard to make it up now,” he said. “But we’re not going to give up.”

<p>GOLDEN MEADOW  Under a waning moon and a brilliant canopy of early-morning stars, Bayou Lafourche shone like smooth black glass as the 28-foot shrimp boat What Now motored southeast.</p><p>Adam Pip Verdin, 65, pipe clenched between his teeth and left hand on the wheel, joined other local fishermen early Monday on the waters of lower Lafourche and Terrebonne. All were trying their luck on the first day of 2009’s fall shrimp season.</p><p>Lightning streaks lit up towering masses of clouds like flashbulbs as Verdin steered toward canals and lakes between Golden Meadow and Grand Isle, hoping for spots where the shrimp were running thick.</p><p>His first pass with the skimmer nets, called a drag by shrimpers, pulled in mounds of marine jelly, small croakers and just a handful of white shrimp.</p><p>It’s just jelly in there, he said, after cranking his nets out of the water and onto the stern deck for an inspection.</p><p>The rest of the day wasn’t much better. After more than four hours on the water, Verdin had about 20 pounds of shrimp.</p><p>That ain’t the first time I seen that, he said, adding that other opening days in August have been equally disappointing. The winds aren’t right or something.</p><p>The other fishermen chatting with him in French on the marine radio weren’t having any better luck.</p><p>Gloria Pellegrin, a worker at Gulf Island Seafood in Dulac, said Terrebonne fishermen were likewise having a slow day.</p><p>There’s no big catches, she said. We only had about three boats that came in this morning and they had very little.</p><p>Shrimpers across the state were reporting low catch numbers, according to Martin Bourgeois, a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and director of its shrimp program.</p><p>It’s not too spectacular a start, said Bourgeois, offering stagnant tides, clear water and recent hot weather as potential reasons.</p><p>These are the dog days of summer, he said.</p><p>Shrimp tend to burrow and escape the nets when water is clear, Bourgeois said, adding that a front or system moving through the coast might help get them moving again. </p><p>That’s what often times it takes during the heat of summer. Something to stir things up, he said. There’s not much movement at all.</p><p>But with the catch selling for rock-bottom prices at local docks and the shrimp more difficult to find during the fall season, shrimpers may have a tough time making up for the slow start.</p><p>Verdin, of Golden Meadow, is a former shipyard worker who became a commercial shrimper about 18 years ago after rupturing a disk in his back. He works odd carpentry and electrical jobs but makes most of his yearly income from shrimping.</p><p>Verdin spent about $200 in fuel and $40 in ice for his first trip, putting him one day in the hole.</p><p>Tomorrow might be better, he said. Right now it’s like gambling.</p><p>Shrimp are grouped based on how many it takes to make a pound. At the Sea Shed in Golden Meadow, where Verdin ties up his boat, fishermen were paid $2 a pound for 16-20s, among the larger shrimp.</p><p>It’s hard to make it up now, he said. But we’re not going to give up.</p><p>Senior Staff Writer Robert Zullo can be reached at 850-1150 or </p><p>robert.zullo@houmatoday.com.</p>